


On the Ravages of Aging

by DelightfullyDifficult



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-08
Updated: 2017-03-08
Packaged: 2018-09-30 20:17:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10171016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DelightfullyDifficult/pseuds/DelightfullyDifficult
Summary: "A few weeks after returning from the twisted Wish-reality, Emma begins to notice that something is a little off concerning her favorite pirate.She doesn’t know, at first, what is bothering her.  There is nothing overtly obvious that makes her think ‘this is wrong’; it’s just a feeling, in the back of her mind, insisting that something is off. "





	

**Author's Note:**

> This little ficlet came about because I was disturbed by some of the OUaT Fandom's reaction to Old!Hook in 6x11, Tougher Than the Rest. So like a good little dork, I wrote out my feelings.  
> Beta'd by the admirable Icecubelotr44.

A few weeks after returning from the twisted Wish-reality, Emma begins to notice that something is a little off concerning her favorite pirate.

She doesn’t know, at first, what is bothering her. There is nothing overtly obvious that makes her think ‘this is wrong’; it’s just a feeling, in the back of her mind, insisting that something is off.

So she starts watching Killian a little closer. Her eyes follow him around the kitchen as he makes dinner and she watches him out of the corner of her eyes as they dress in the mornings. And for the first few days, everything seems normal and she starts to tell herself that she was wrong, that everything is all right.

But then they’re running late for dinner with her parents and she finds herself climbing the stairs to the master bedroom expecting to find her love messing with his eye-liner. Instead, she spots him in front of the mirror,still shirtless, frowning at his reflection. Her pirate runs his hand down the flat planes of his abdomen in an assessing manner. She clears her throat to get his attention and he hastily finishes dressing, making a quip about not letting himself get soft.

At that instant, she realizes that her humorous recounting of his Wish-world self may have had a negative effect on her real-world lover. She can’t address the situation just then, since they have a dinner to get to.

However, she keeps the incident in the back of her mind as she continues her observations. She finds that Killian no longer steals as many onion rings off her plate when they dine at Granny’s. He no longer orders a slice of pie for himself, claiming he’s full and he’ll be fine only having a few bites of hers.

One day, she even spots him eyeing the men’s hair dye while grocery shopping.

The last straw was the day she found his flask in the kitchen cabinet, hidden behind a few bottles of wine, covered in a fine layer of dust.

She holds it in her hand, stroking the worn leather, and remembers the first time he’d offered her some rum on the way to Neverland. Remembers her father toasting the pirate turned ally who had saved his life.

Her heart breaks, just a little, thinking that her words, her jokes, have made her true love feel as if he needs to give up drinking altogether and to be wary of the effect time would have on his body.

The next day, she makes a few not-so-subtle hints to Henry that he should spend the night with his grandparents. Killian is off on the Jolly Roger with Robin, giving the poor man a break from the constant culture shock of his new reality. While he is gone, she makes her mother’s lasagna, one of his favorite dishes. She buys a whole apple pie from Granny and picks up a half gallon of vanilla ice cream and some whipped cream from the store.

So when Killian returns home, exhilarated from a day at sea, she’s there to greet him with a kiss and a surprise dinner. They joke and banter through the meal, him insisting that her lasagna is even better than her mother’s and her rolling her eyes because she knows her cooking skills are sub-par.

Despite his praise of her cooking, he only eats three quarters of the lasagna she served him and he does a good job of pushing bits around his plate to make it look like he at the whole thing.

His eyes widen to a comical level when she brings out the pie for dessert, complete with a large scoop of ice cream on the side and a generous helping of whipped cream on top.

“Swan, love, there is no way I can eat all of that, not after the delightful dinner you made,” he insists.

“Nonsense. I’ve seen you put down a slice of your own and half of mine after a full serving of Granny’s meatloaf,” she replies, setting the piece in front of him on the table.

She seats herself across from him and enthusiastically digs into her own slice of pie. By the time she has finished, he has eaten about half and managed to spread about most of the rest in a way that suggests he ate more than he did. He has an odd look on his face when she turns back from putting the dishes in the sink; part determined and part sullen.

Saddened, she takes his hand and guides him to the living room, where she pulls him down onto the couch with her, curling into his arms.

“Killian, something’s been bothering you since I got back from the Wish world,” she probes.

“Only that you had to face that alone, love,” he says, stroking her face.

She sighs and decides to abandon the subtle approach, “Killian, why is your flask in the cabinet?”

“Is that where it is?” He replies. “I must have put it there after cleaning it. Haven’t gone for drink in a while, so I must not have noticed,“ he shrugs.

“Long enough for it to collect dust?”

“It’s not as if I need to have rum with me at all times. Don’t want to turn into some fat, lazy drunk, like the me you saw in your wish. Worthless sod.”

Finally having a good opening, she pounces, “Killian, you do know that even if you did get fat and lazy and smell of rum, I would still love you?”

Her pirate snorts, “Not going to happen, love, not if I can help it.”

“Is that why you’ve been eating less? And checking for fat on your stomach in the morning?”

The silence that follows her statement is profound.

After a bit, she adjusts her position so that she is straddling his legs and studies his face. It’s closed off, in much the same way it was when they’d rescued him from Hades, signaling to her that this is a touchy subject.  
  
“Killian Jones, in case you have any doubt in your head that I would love you less for any reason, listen closely,” she leans close, their foreheads touching. “I love you. I will love you for the rest of my life. And I do not care one bit if you develop a fat belly, grow a scraggly beard, and go as grey as Granny. Though I would appreciate if you don’t spend your golden years drunk and impersonating Jack Sparrow, I will love you no less if you do.”

His face relaxes, somewhat, so she places a soft kiss on his lips before continuing, “You’ve escaped the ravages of aging for a long time, so I understand if you’re a little afraid. But have no worries that I’ll cease to care about you when you are no longer the

spry, fit pirate you are now. I will love every grey hair, every wrinkle, and every bulge of fat. Because you know what matters more than any of those? That we grow old, together.” She lays her head on his chest and listens to his heart.

“I want to grow old with you, Killian Jones. I want to spend the rest of my life waking up and seeing you grow and change, day by day.” His hand has found its way into her hair and is softly caressing her scalp.

She lifts her head up and looks him straight in the eye, “So no more not finishing dinner and begging off dessert. And I expect that flask to be full and in your pocket should I find myself in need of a little rum, understood, Captain?”

“Aye, Swan, aye.”


End file.
